


A Merry Little Christmas

by Arwen88



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Mistletoe, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 12:58:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17203850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arwen88/pseuds/Arwen88
Summary: Clint takes courage and kisses Nick at the Christmas party. It starts from there and it goes on with the two of them deciding to spend the holidays together.





	A Merry Little Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Acadiana for betareading this and being generally awesome <3  
> Written for the Maritombola of LandeDiFandom, prompt 20.

Nick was well aware that the Christmas party had been going on for the last hour, but a part of him wasn't too eager to walk between his agents and see them scuttle away afraid of him (no matter the fact that he was a good person despite his murderous resting face). However, a bigger part of Nick was more than willing to spend the time there and wish them a merry Christmas, even more so with the hope of bumping into the agent for whom he had an unrequited crush.  
He sighed, considering the chances he had of talking with him for just a little bit while eating, and finally decided to close the file he was working on and head towards the party.  
As expected, he saw his agents move out of his way as soon as he exited the elevator, so he made a beeline for the food, inconspicuously looking for the right person amidst the others.  
He couldn't help but smile a little when his eye met the gaze of his agent and the man smiled way more openly at him, looking as relaxed as they came in contrast with everyone else almost running away at his approaching. Nick did anything he could to be friendly with him during the years, hoping to become friends if he couldn't have anything else. Just the chance to be close to him, to be seen for who he was and not just his rank, was all he wanted.  
Suddenly the gaze of the other man traveled from his face to above his head. Nick followed the direction of his gaze almost unthinking, stopping in his tracks at seeing the mistletoe hanging above him.

Clint watched Nick stop under the mistletoe and for a moment he forgot all the times he had wondered if Nick did see him just as a friend or if there was the possibility to have one day something more. There weren't many people with whom Clint was as friendly as he was with Nick and for once he asked himself if that was enough to warrant a kiss. If Nick were to step away he could just as well pretend he was joking, or that it was only because of the Christmas tradition.  
He took a step towards his boss, and then another one, thinking only for just a moment about all the people around them and then promptly forgetting all about the rest of the universe when Nick moved his gaze back down, surprise written on his face at finding Clint closer than before.  
Clint smiled softly at him and after the briefest second he leaned in to give him a gentle peck on his lips. Nick stood really still, surprised, but after a moment he moved his hands to Clint's hips, hoping the moment wouldn't end.  
He wasn't sure if his touch was that welcome, if Clint was doing it just because of the mistletoe, or if for some miracle he was really interested in him, but nothing about that really mattered; not when he was finally kissing the man he had crushed on for almost two years.  
Clint smiled at feeling Nick answer the kiss and after a second he tried to deepen it, eating up the groan that escaped Nick's throat when they started kissing for real right there in front of everybody.  
Nick had to force himself not to follow Clint when the man moved away, but then he got to look him in the eyes, see the soft smile that the younger man was giving him.  
"I know you just got here, but what if we went away?" Clint murmured so that only Nick could hear him. Nick nodded right away with butterflies in his stomach, not really sure if this was happening for real or not.  
It seemed too much like one of his dreams, to have Clint be interested in him as more than a friend, to have Clint actively looking for a kiss and maybe more later that night. Whatever Clint wanted, he was ready to give it to him and treasure that memory for the rest of his life.

They moved from the party to Clint's room in the SHIELD dormitory. Nick had thought for the briefest moment to take him to his own room due to his slightly bigger bed than Clint's single, but he had dismissed the idea pretty soon; he would have paid to be able to know he was going to be sleeping in his friend's bed, surrounded by his scent and with the man himself in his arms.  
Clint was way more enthusiastic than Nick would have expected, mostly because until the last moment while they were undressing each other he had kept dreading that moment for fear Clint would suddenly change his mind at seeing the sheer amount of scars all over his body. Instead, Clint grinned and leaned in to kiss him again on the lips before he launched himself over him, pushing Nick flat on the bed to trace as many of his scars as he could reach with his lips while they prepared each other.  
Clint managed to make him forget all of his worries that this would have been just a temporary thing just to go back to being friends the day after as soon as Nick lost himself in his arms, on his lips, and in the heat of their passion.  
Once they were too exhausted to go on, Nick took a deep breath, unable to stop smiling as Clint made him move closest to the wall so he could lay on his side beside Nick, trying to find a comfortable spot for his head on Nick's shoulder.  
It was more than Nick had ever dreamt about, to finally be intimate with the man he had a crush on, to have the chance to keep him in his arms after. Clint moved his feet between Nick's and his hand over his chest, gently caressing him with a satisfied sigh. Nick turned his head slightly to kiss his forehead, trying to store every detail in his memory, from the heat of his lover to the scent of his skin, the way his blonde hair sticked out and tickled his cheek, and the sensation of his back covered in sweat under the tip of his fingers as he kept petting the man.  
They kept exchanging cuddles and kisses until sounds of celebrations reached the room and Clint smiled softly against his neck.  
"Guess it's Christmas. Merry Christmas?"  
"Merry Christmas." Nick smiled, turning to search for his lips.  
"Do you have any plans for tomorrow?" Clint murmured on his lips, still caressing his chest, and for a moment Nick's thoughts went to the files he had thought to work on on Christmas day because he had nothing better to do anyway, or the fact that he had done nothing special for the winter holidays for quite a few years at that point.  
He had expected that year to go as all the years before that, but suddenly he wondered if there was a chance of not being alone, of doing something that he could remember for the years to follow for a change.  
"Nothing planned yet."  
"Me either." Clint admitted. "Maybe we could eat together?" He tried, unsure if Nick would accept. Having sex with each other was one thing, but spending the Christmas holiday as a couple was quite another. It sounded - it was - more like a date than just something as friends, at least now that he was proposing it in bed, while they were cuddling. Totally a different vibe compared to asking it over a beer after work.  
But Nick looked surprised at him for just a moment before accepting and Clint couldn't help but smile and steal another kiss before settling back on his shoulder with a yawn.  
If Nick had been surprised about getting an invite to eat together the next day he was shocked when Clint just went to sleep sprawled over him, clearly not eager to let Nick leave his bed during the night. He was more than okay with it, to be honest, glad for that chance of a lifetime.

The dorms, as well as the majority of the SHIELD compound, were almost empty for Christmas with many agents having returned home for the day, taking at least half a day off to have lunch with someone in the city, or taking vacations.  
Nick wasn't worried about the chance to be seen with Clint since he thought the man was worth a billion bucks and honestly, if someone saw them together - even if Clint had decided to hold his hand - it was improbable that anyone would believe they were dating, not with how beautiful Clint was and how old he was himself. Not even considering the eye patch and visible scars on his face. He couldn't believe it himself actually.  
Clint took them to the mess hall, only to find it was closed for the day.  
"This is very impractical." He commented, before fishing some lockpicking items from his pocket and making fast work of the locks.  
"Really? Right in front of your boss?" Nick chuckled.  
"Well, I bet my boss will understand that a hungry agent is hungry. Also my boss, as far as I know, eats as much as I do and so I guess by now his stomach is trying to digest itself." Clint smiled, standing up to open the door, letting Nick go through first.  
"True." Nick conceded, still smiling.  
They made it to the kitchen, Nick mentally making a note about resupplying the place of what they were going to eat, and things went surprisingly smooth from then on.  
They were both aware of what the other liked to eat and they could work well together behind the stove as much as they did in the field. Both experiences Nick wished he could do many more times with his archer. Killing together was terribly hot, he found, but cooking together gave a sense of familiarity, almost domesticity, that Nick craved like air.  
It was while they were eating a huge pile of pancakes each that Nick decided to risk proposing of the other man something quite more demanding.  
He scratched the nape of his neck for a moment before throwing a glance at Clint.  
"I have a cabin in Canada, you know? A really nice place, close to the lake, far from everything else but the woods. I don't go there very often, mostly when I need some solo time."   
"If I had your job I would want some solo time quite often." Clint snorted with half a smile.  
"Yeah, you have no idea. But I was thinking... it would be a nice place to spend the allotted vacation time."  
"True..." Clint admitted slowly, looking at him in the eye with a half smile as he put down his fork. "Nick, are you inviting me to spend our vacations together in your cabin in the woods?"  
Nick looked him square in the eyes, hoping he wasn't asking for too much. "Yes. Would you like that?" He asked trying not to look as if he was holding his breath for his answer, hoping that Clint would want more than just lunch with him. He had waited for a chance to ask him out for a couple years at that point and he couldn't see a better option in his future than that.  
Clint beamed at him, surprised that Nick would really ask him to spend all those days together. It didn't seem something he would ask anyone, not unless there was some interest behind. He for one wouldn't have brought the former to his safe house - not that he had one - just because.  
"I'd love to." He admitted with a huge smile, and Nick couldn't help but answer to that, happier than he had been in years.  
"When you want."  
"Well, I guess we should buy food before departing? I guess there isn't much fresh food in there if you don't go there regularly."  
"No, there isn't." Nick confirmed gingerly going back to his breakfast, trying not to look to the world as if he had butterflies in his stomach or something. "We could buy groceries as soon as the shops open maybe?" He proposed, glad for the chance to use the "we" and plan more activities together.  
"Sure. But I'm warning you, I'll buy a lot of chocolate. We have to have chocolate for Christmas."  
"Chocolate is also good when it's cold, and in there it's really cold." He nodded.  
"Can you tell me more about the place or do you want it to be a surprise?"  
"There are a couple bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and the lake is just a hundred meters from the front door. There is also a nice little boat I use to go fishing. This time of the year everything is covered in snow."  
"Sounds amazing. No fireplace though?"  
"Of course there is one. It would have been a crime not to build one."  
"Wait- you built the cabin yourself?" He asked with his eyes wide open.  
"Yes, bought the property of the area a long time ago and then built the cabin on it myself." He admitted with certain pride in his voice.  
Clint was really impressed by that and slowly nodded. "That's so cool... I would love to be able to do something like that, you know? Have a house, you know, from when you put the first brick. I had no idea."  
"You still have time to do it, you know? You're young, you have plenty of time to realize anything you want."  
"Eh, going on thirty, it feels a bit like I should have done everything years ago and I'm late for life. I have a job that I like, but other than that I don't have much." He admitted shrugging a bit, but Nick could see past the nonchalant gesture, to something that was bothering Clint.  
He reached for his hand beside the plate, and gently caressed his fingers with his thumb.  
"I'm an old man and I'm telling you, you still have time. There is nothing wrong with a late start, and anyway it just means that when you do what you want you'll probably have more experiences on your shoulders than what you had years ago when you feel you should have done everything."  
"That is true." Clint smiled softly, holding his hand a bit more tightly.

In the end, they went to buy groceries right after breakfast because they had to admit that if they went back to Clint’s room they would have probably spent the whole vacation in there. Nick was flattered by that, not having felt that attractive for a long time, and when the time came to push the cart closer to the condoms he hoped Clint would not change his mind later or think bad of him as he picked two boxes of condoms. Clint snorted softly and Nick couldn’t do anything about the heat rising to his cheeks, but then the archer reached out and took a third box to add in the cart before stealing a kiss from his lips, and Nick barely managed not to beam as they started walking again.

One step out of the car and Clint decided that the place was as cold as Nick had it made out to be when they talked that morning.  
Nick tried to convince him to start getting inside as he took everything out of the car but Clint refused, wanting to give him a hand and make sure they both could get inside sooner than later.  
Everything was pretty much covered in snow, the wood cabin and all the trees that surrounded it and even the mountains that were reflected in the blue lake a few meters from them, giving the whole place the aspect of a holiday postcard.  
Clint watched the place with interest, wanting to remember everything, and took a deep breath of cold air before hiding his face back into his scarf and helping Nick with their bags.  
Nick was impatient to spend those days alone with him, hoping there could be a chance for a real relationship at the end of that vacation.  
A few hours later the place was livable, warmed by the fire in the fireplace and with the lights on, a fragrance of chocolate coming from the kitchen as Clint busied himself making two mugs of hot chocolate for them.  
Nick put his hands on his hips, leaning in to smell it from over his shoulder, looking more for the physical contact than anything else. Clint caressed one of his hands and leaned back against his chest, smiling when Nick gently kissed his neck.  
"This is going to be the best Christmas ever..." The archer sighed in pleasure.

Nick had always thought that he wasn't suited for taking vacations, always growing bored without anything to do and had always cut short his free days in order to not have the boredom get to his mind, but he discovered what changed it for real was actually doing what he liked with someone else.  
They would fill the time sleeping and having sex, cooking and eating together, going for walks in the woods and once trekking up to the closest mountain, a couple times going for a boat ride on the lake and fishing for their dinner.  
Slowly they both started opening up, telling each other about their lives, the good and the bad - at least what they were ready to share, as they had both enough in their lives to know how it was best not to press too much when the other didn't seemed to inclined to talk - compared to what they would have liked to do.  
The more the time passed, the more Nick stopped wondering if Clint was there with him as a friend or for the sex, since he was fairly sure that if the other man was opening up that way it was because he was seriously interested in him and ready to trust him.  
Clint had more or less the same discourse with himself and slowly forgot to guard himself too much, letting Nick see the real him that he would usually hide from the others for fear of getting hurt.  
They were laying on the couch in front of the fireplace the second to last day of their vacation, Nick calmly reading a book while Clint took a nap half sprawled over him. Nick loved that Clint would keep his guard down with him at all times at that point and gently kept petting his hair, enjoying the night more than he could have described to any of his friends. It was as if he was finally doing the right thing in his life, everything clicking together to give him the most peaceful days he had had in years.  
The shrill of his cell phone distracted him from his book and woke Clint. The man lifted his head, still groggy, and Nick gave him a short kiss over his forehead before putting down his book to take the cellphone, groaning softly at seeing who was calling.  
The call didn't last long, and for the whole time Clint kept staring at him, his chin on Nick's chest, his attention captured by Nick asking how many casualties there had been and which teams had been already deployed.  
Nick didn't like the idea of cutting short the vacation, but by the end of the call they both knew they had to go back to their work.  
"Back to killing bad guys?" Clint asked nonetheless.  
Nick sighed and nodded, raking his fingers in his blonde hair. "Afraid so. Sorry to cut this short."  
Clint grinned slightly, starting to get up from him. "It's okay, I get it. And anyway you could always take me here another time." He threw that in there with a twinkle in his eyes that warmed up Nick's chest.  
It was the promise of sticking to him even if sometimes it wasn't easy with their jobs, and it was the promise of sticking around for longer than a vacation, for enough that they could manage more free time, to that thing they had going on between them not being just an adventure.  
"I will." He promised gently caressing one of his cheekbones.

Things moved fast after they went back to work, even if they kept seeing each other regularly, having meals together in the mess hall and elsewhere more than before just to have more privacy, sleeping together every time they could. Still they never talked about what to label their relationship and each other. They were both fairly sure they were together and it was monogamous, but aside from that they had never explicitly talked about what they would call each other to a third party.  
Until one month after they had first kissed, when Clint ended up in the hospital during a job and the doctor tried to keep Nick out of the room. Nick was barely keeping it together at the knowledge that someone had managed to shoot Clint, but when the doctor told him that he couldn't get closer to him even though he was awake again because he was not a family member, Nick lost it.  
"I'm his boyfriend and I have the right to see him now that he's awake!"  
He wasn't even thinking if having that right was technically true or not, he could only think about the fact that Clint had been in danger and he was so busy at the HQ commanding the rest of the team so that they could finish the job and then making sure there was someone to fix the damages that he hadn't had the chance to accompany him himself to the hospital, hadn't even arrived in time to see Clint before they put him under to operate him.  
When he managed to get inside the room he blew a breath that he hadn't noticed he was holding; Clint was not only awake, but he was looking at the door with half a smile.  
"How are you?" Nick murmured stepping closer to the bed to gently take his hand, leaning in to kiss his scrapped fingers.   
"Fine." Clint croaked, and Nick hurried to pass him a glass of water.  
Nick knew he couldn't really rely on Clint to know how he was, not with the amount of painkillers he had been given and the number of wounds. Still he was able to talk and that was a relief in itself.  
"Am I your boyfriend then?"  
The question came unexpected and for a moment Nick stopped, caught off guard before he remembered his own words in the hallway. He felt his cheeks heat up as he watched carefully the man lying in the hospital bed, wondering if he found it hilarious or if he was okay with what Nick had told the doctor.  
Clint seemed able to read it all on his face because he reached out with his hand and gently caressed his cheek.  
"If that's what you'd like to call me than I ask for permission to call you my boyfriend too." He smiled softly.  
Nick relaxed and nodded minutely, covering his hand with his own, turning to kiss his palm while he took a moment more to collect his thoughts.  
"I thought of ours as a stable relationship." He admitted.  
"Me too." Clint sighed tiredly. "Heads up: one day I'll call you something mushy in public. Like chocolate bear." He murmured closing his eyes once more.  
Nick huffed a smile but kept silent, seeing that Clint was falling asleep once more. Instead of getting out he took the chair and moved it closer to his bed so to be able to keep holding his hand while he watched his partner sleep.  
He wouldn't have minded Clint calling him whatever he wanted in public if that meant that the man was fine and not in a dangerous situation. Thinking about it, he decided to try and make a rule of it, in the remote possibility that Clint would pay more attention to his own safety if in exchange there was the chance to tell everybody that Nick was his chocolate bear or his maple syrup, or whatever he was going to go with.  
Anything that would have made his boyfriend happy was fine with him. Not like he wasn't going to call him his sugar in return.


End file.
